Automotive directional dark area pathway illumination

Abstract

A system for illuminating an area around a motor vehicle, having: a pair of radar systems and a pair of lighting systems mounted on the motor vehicle; a vehicle level sensor configured to detect changes in pitch or roll of the motor vehicle; and an illumination control system in the motor vehicle. The illumination control system includes a key fob communication system and determines the location of a person by detecting the person approaching the motor vehicle by detecting the presence of the key fob while also detecting the location of the person with a radar system mounted on the vehicle. Next, when the location of the person has been determined, the illumination system lights up the area the person is standing while following movement of the person with the radar system to continuously re-directing the illumination towards the location on the ground where the person is standing as the person moves.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method executed on data processing hardware of a vehicle that causes the data processing hardware to perform operations comprising:
 receiving first data captured by a first sensor; 
 determining, based on the first data captured by the first sensor, a location of a person outside the vehicle as the person moves relative to the vehicle; and 
 instructing a lighting system of the vehicle to direct illumination toward a ground surface where the location of the person is determined outside the vehicle as the person moves relative to the vehicle, the lighting system comprising a segmented lighting array having different segments, the different segments configured to direct light in different directions, 
 wherein instructing the lighting system to direct illumination comprises instructing the segmented lighting array to illuminate different segments at different times based on the location of the person as the person outside the vehicle moves relative to the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving, from a vehicle level sensor, a pitch or roll measurement of the vehicle; and 
 determining a ground plane near the vehicle based on the pitch or roll measurement, 
 wherein instructing the lighting system of the vehicle to direct illumination toward the ground surface is based on the determined ground plane near the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first sensor comprises a camera mounted on the vehicle; and 
 the first data comprises image data captured by the camera. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first sensor comprises a radar mounted on the vehicle. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lighting system comprises one or more lights mounted on the vehicle. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving, from a key fob associated with the person, key fob signals; and 
 detecting the presence of the person based on the received key fob signals, wherein instructing the lighting system is based on detecting the presence of the person. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving image data captured by a camera mounted on the vehicle; and 
 performing facial recognition on the image data to identify the person, 
 wherein instructing the lighting system is based on identifying the person. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first sensor comprises at least two cameras mounted on the vehicle. 
     
     
       9. A vehicle comprising:
 a first sensor; 
 a lighting system configured to direct illumination toward a ground surface, the lighting system comprising a segmented lighting array having different segments, the different segments configured to direct light in different directions; and 
 data processing hardware in communication with the first sensor and the lighting system, the data processing hardware performing operations comprising:
 receiving first data captured by the first sensor; 
 determining, based on the first data captured by the first sensor, a location of a person outside the vehicle as the person moves relative to the vehicle; and 
 instructing the lighting system of the vehicle to direct illumination toward the ground surface where the location of the person is determined outside the vehicle by instructing the segmented lighting array to illuminate different segments at different times based on the location of the person as the person outside the vehicle moves relative to the vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The vehicle of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a vehicle level sensor in communication with the data processing hardware, 
 wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving, from the vehicle level sensor, a pitch or roll measurement of the vehicle; and 
 determining a ground plane near the vehicle based on the pitch or roll measurement, 
 wherein instructing the lighting system of the vehicle to direct illumination toward the ground surface is based on the determined ground plane near the vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
       11. The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the first sensor comprises a camera mounted on the vehicle, and the first data comprises image data captured by the camera. 
     
     
       12. The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the first sensor comprises a radar mounted on the vehicle. 
     
     
       13. The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the lighting system comprises one or more lights mounted on the vehicle. 
     
     
       14. The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving, from a key fob associated with the person, key fob signals; and 
 detecting the presence of the person based on the received key fob signals, 
 wherein instructing the lighting system is based on detecting the presence of the person. 
 
     
     
       15. The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving image data captured by a camera mounted on the vehicle; and 
 performing facial recognition on the image data to identify the person, 
 wherein instructing the lighting system is based on identifying the person. 
 
     
     
       16. The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the first sensor comprises at least two cameras mounted on the vehicle.